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It's not like anybody's hiding this. It's even in the article.

"In a bid to cut carbon emissions and air pollution, Norway exempts battery-driven cars from most taxes and offers benefits such as free parking and charging points to hasten a shift from diesel and petrol engines. "

"“It was a small step closer to the 2025 goal,” by which time Norway’s parliament wants all new cars to be emissions-free, Oeyvind Solberg Thorsen, head of the NRF, told a conference. "

It's clearly being driven by a government goal to hit a certain target by a certain year. That's fine (I'd even argue that's how it should be, but that would be beside the point).



How do they make up for loss of tax revenue?


Avoiding downstream costs due to carbon emissions. Also arguable that this source of revenue in particular was small and they increased taxes to reduce purchases while maintaining same revenue levels.


You mean by selling oil and exporting those downstream carbon costs out of the country?


That's part of norways income stream. But a smaller part than you'd probably imagine.

2018: https://www.norskpetroleum.no/en/economy/governments-revenue... (check out the pie charts)


I suppose their oil wealth and sovereign wealth fund would help smooth over any problems here.


AFAIK sovereign wealth fund can't be used in Norway as per law.


But the yield it generates can?


yep ppl have learnt lessons from Venezuela.


Iraq actually. Or rather an Iraqi fella. There was an article on it here on Hacker News earlier. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9673157


By selling oil.

A touch ironic, no?


another way of looking at it: realizing oil wealth is unsustainable and spending the cushion now to make the transition on their own terms instead of being forced to by climate uncertainty (annual record breaking fires, hurricanes, etc.) or market uncertainty (stranded assets).


Ironic or not - I don't think you really mean they make up any lost tax on cars by selling oil - it's not like the oil sale increases by that virtue.


Looks that way. Of course oil is used in the production of plastics and other useful materials as well.


asphalt too


you mean by selling more oil?




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